"Almost no riders will do the double with us" - Many teams are faced with a tough choice ahead of Dublin World Cup

Cyclocross
Friday, 24 November 2023 at 14:50
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The cyclo-cross world will travel to Ireland this weekend for the World Cup in Dublin. Logistically, it is again a complex operation, as X2O cross in Kortrijk is on the menu on Saturday. WielerFlits spoke to some of the major teams involved to find out every team's strategy and what complications might arise with such transfer.

Last year the World Cup in Dublin was on the calendar the day after the Exact Cross in Essen. This was not a big problem for the top riders, because the Exact Crosses are not part of a regularity competition. The choice was quickly made, all the big names went to Dublin a few days before the cross and therefore did not ride in Essen.

"Almost no riders will do the double with us," explains sports director Eric Braes of Baloise Trek Lions. "But that does not mean that it is not a complex operation logistically. On the Thursday before the cross, one of our trucks will take the boat to Dublin. The boat departs from France and then goes to Dublin via the United Kingdom. Our truck is full of stuff and two of our staff members are already traveling with us. Our riders will leave a little later by plane."

Similar tactics will be put into effect by Crelan-Fristads and Circus-ReUz-Technord. Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal will take a direct connection from France to Dublin to evade complications in United Kingdom. Organisers, aware of the situation, created a basement for teams in nearby sports hall, but many teams opt to bring their own campervans and buses regardless.

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